noun
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informal foolish talk; nonsense
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another name for bologna sausage
Etymology
Origin of baloney
1915–20, 1925–30 baloney for def. 2; alteration of bologna, with substitution of -ey 2 for final schwa
Explanation
Baloney is nonsense. When someone says something completely ridiculous, call it a bunch of baloney. If your friend tells you a unicorn on roller skates ate the last cookie, tell her she’s full of baloney! The word baloney comes from the sandwich meat called bologna, which is typically made of leftover scraps of meat. Around 1920, baloney came to mean "nonsense," and it was also used to describe an unskilled boxer. Use it to describe utter nonsense, not necessarily evil lies, but just words that mean nothing. A politician who spouts clichés but really says nothing is full of baloney, and so is a pretentious artist or a pompous showoff.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We’re living under a dark cloud, with a steady downpour of graft, thuggery and baloney.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“The older people can usually see through the baloney pretty quick, but the young people, not so much,” James said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
And while conventional wisdom says you should always cook what you know when hosting, I think that’s baloney.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
Antoni, who has a PhD in economics, has previously criticised the BLS, questioning its methodology and calling its statistics "phoney baloney".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
I would basically just do a few laps around the room, scarfing my pasta Bolognese, which I found out was not pasta and baloney, but was actually just regular spaghetti.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
